I forgot my kindle at home this week so I didn’t get to read any more about Jane. I mostly read the newspaper, caught up on my William and Kate happenings, and my husband’s Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines. Runner’s World had an article I found very intriguing, titled “A Fresh Start” about a running club called Running Free, for women prisoners at the Topeka Correctional Facility in Kansas. They train on the basketball court running laps and even have races including a marathon on a .8 mile prison track. One prisoner named Michelle Eicher commented, “When I first got here, I was pretty resentful…but the club let me see that maybe there is some humanity left me after all.” No taxpayer money has been used to pay for this running club and the inmates raise money for local charities from their prison jobs and they pay for the races entries just like other runners do. The inmates have raised $35,000 for the local charities. Bill Cummings, the deputy warden explained, “The women are learning things that those of us who run have known for years…How to connect to the community, handle set-backs, build up for an event – these skills have been of incredible benefit to the women.” It’s one of those stories I can’t get out of my mind. I am really glad that running and the discipline of running are bringing hope and “humanity” to women who took a wrong turn in life. It’s the kind of thing we need from our prison system.
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